THE VISITOR

RAW IS WAR, FEBRUARY 19TH, 2001

The next morning, at training, Benoit showed up again. This time, Angel was in the middle of working with a kendo stick, while Blackman looked on and Al practiced alone.

Benoit stood in the doorway, watching, that intense look on his face. He didn’t say a word and it was some time before anyone noticed he was there. Al saw him out of the corner of his eye, jumped from the ring and walked right up to him.

"No, we’re not repeating yesterday. I’m going to have to ask you to leave."

Benoit raised his eyebrows. "And I’m going to have to ask you to get out of my face before I break yours."

Al scowled and put his hands on his hips. "You think I’m afraid of you, Benoit?"

"Yeah, actually, I do. If you weren’t you’d actually do something instead of standing around yakking all day."

Al frowned as Angel and Blackman stepped up behind him.

Benoit nodded, eyebrows raised. "You talk until your bodyguards arrive. Aren’t you lucky?"

"Leave, Benoit," Blackman said quietly.

"Benoit raised his hands. "I know, this is your house," he mocked. "But I’m not here to see you, I came to see your student."

"We know what you’re doing here," Blackman told him in a rare display of eloquence. "The question is, why are you here?"

Angel tapped the end of the kendo stick on the ground. "I’d like to know that, too. What do you want from me, Benoit?" she asked, holding his gaze as she gave Blackman a little push. "I thought I made it perfectly clear I wanted nothing to do with you."

"That was before you accompanied me to the ring," Benoit challenged.

Angel frowned. "Now I see why you and Malenko are such good friends. I wasn’t in your corner. I was in Stone Cold’s."

Benoit blinked as a voice came from behind him.

"I’m going to ask you one more time to leave."

Benoit turned to look at Blackman and in that instant, Angel threw the kendo stick. Benoit spun to face Angel, noticed that the stick was gone, then turned back to Blackman, who now held the stick in both hands. Blackman nodded at Angel, who pulled out her fighting sticks and first took out Benoit’s legs, then crisscrossed them, tearing up his body. As Benoit spun and tried to fight back, Blackman brought the kendo stick down over his head, breaking the stick in two. Blackman nodded at Angel again and she crouched down, put the sticks between Benoit’s legs, and threw him out the door.

Al and Blackman ran against the door and Angel locked it.

"You warned him twice," she shrugged at Blackman.

Blackman grabbed her shoulder and held up part of the broken stick. "I think we’re done with weapons for today."

* * * *

"Hi Angel, how are you?"

Angel smiled as she looked up from her appointment book. It was late Monday afternoon and she, Lita and the Hardyz had just arrived for Raw. "Hi Billy. I’m not so great, actually. I need fifteen signatures if I want to stick around."

Billy looked puzzled so she explained her whole situation. "So, anyway, I was Hardcore Holly’s valet at Heat last night and I got him, Molly and Crash to sign, but that still leaves me with seven to get by Thursday."

"Count me in," Billy told her, picking up a pen. "I still need you to be my valet like we worked out. There you go, my autograph. Keep it later and sell it on ebay."

Angel smiled. "Thanks, Billy. Any matches tonight?"

Billy shook his head. "No, but I’m considering doing some run-ins at Hardcore Title matches and I think The One, Billy Gunn, Hardcore Champion has quite a ring to it. What do you think?"

"I definitely like the sound of it."

Billy smiled at her. "So my hardcore career looks like being pretty erotic and I don’t know that a valet really fits into that picture."

Angel stared at him. Had he meant ‘erratic’?

"Right," she said slowly. "Well, as soon as you book yourself in some planned matches, come find me, okay?"

"You got it," Billy replied. "I’ll see you later. Good luck with your autograph hunting."

"Bye, Billy." She didn’t know that he got the point, but it really didn’t matter. Only six to go.

* * * *

"What makes you think you can get away with laying a hand on me?"

Angel didn’t even look up. "I’ll think you’ll find it was two sticks, actually."

"Look at me when I’m talking to you," Benoit ordered. "I said, look at me!"

"Actually, I just ate. But scream a little louder, I’m sure Matt and Jeff just love the sound of your voice."

"Cocky little bitch."

Angel frowned and finally looked up. "Would it make me completely juvenile if I said I know you are, but what am I?"

Benoit stared at her intently. "I want you to be my valet tonight. I’m in the main event."

"Exactly what part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?"

Benoit’s glare deepened. "I could kill you with my bare hands, did you know that?"

"Then why don’t you?" Angel demanded. "You tell Al Snow that he’s all talk, but he’s got nothing on you."

"You always have a bodyguard or two at your side," Benoit argued.

Angel shrugged. "I wouldn’t have thought that would bother a man like you. But how about right now? We’re alone. Just you and me. Hit me, I dare you." She stood up to give him a better chance. "Here, I’ll even push the table out of the way."

Benoit clenched his fists and stared at her. His muscles twitched as his brain worked overtime, planning his first move. He couldn’t do it. She had his measure and she knew it. That absolutely wrecked him but he couldn’t walk away, any more than he could hit her. So he stared and breathed heavily as sweat formed all over his body. She looked back at him, an incredible calm all over her face, especially in those eyes. So calm, when for all she knew, an attack from the crippler was imminent. It devastated him. Something had to give.

"Get the hell away from her."

Benoit turned to look at Matt and Jeff as the spell broke and relief washed over him.

"He was just asking me to be his valet," Angel explained. "I told him no and he was just leaving."

Now that he’d taken his eyes off her, Benoit found that he couldn’t look back.

"I’m in the main event," he said coolly, switching his gaze between the Hardyz. "I wanted a valet."

"She told you before she wouldn’t do it," Jeff reminded him.

Benoit nodded. "I thought she’d want to experience a main event."

"Geez, Benoit," Matt sighed. "Why don’t you and Dean Malenko pool your money and buy yourselves a clue?"

Benoit responded by leaping forward and pushing Angel’s table into the Boyz. Before they could retaliate, he was partway down the hall, trying to recover his thoughts. The Hardyz thought they were doing Angel a favor by arriving in the nick of time. He’d never let them have the satisfaction of knowing that he, Chris Benoit, the greatest technical wrestler in the WWF, was the one they’d really saved.

* * * *

"Angel, I don’t want you anywhere near him," Jeff was saying. "If you see him, come find us, no matter what."

"I can handle it," she replied softly, knowing they wouldn’t believe her. She decided to change the subject before an argument started. "So, Lita has Malenko tonight?"

Matt nodded, his teeth clenched. "That she does."

"Does she want me to be her valet?"

"You’ll have to ask her," Matt replied, feigning indifference. "But I don’t even want her to be out there, let alone you."

"It’ll work out, Matt," Angel assured him. "She’ll be fine."

Matt shrugged. "I know I can’t stop her. I just wish she’d listen to me from time to time."

"How about you guys?" Angel asked, shifting her gaze to Jeff. "Do you have a match yet?"

Jeff nodded. "Rikishi and Haku. You can come down for that one too, if you like, since Lita will be busy."

Matt gave him a strange look. "Well, gee, Jeff, that’s a great idea. And while we’re at it, let’s hold her down so Rikishi can Banzai Drop her."

"Angel was valet when Al Snow faced them, and she’s too quick to get caught," Jeff explained.

Matt shrugged. "Look, whatever, okay? Do what you want. I don’t care." With that, he turned and entered the locker room.

"Sorry about that," Jeff sighed. "He’s worried about Lita. He really thinks she’s going to get hurt."

"It’s Malenko," Angel shrugged. "I’ve kicked his ass twice already. Why shouldn’t she have a go?"

"Yeah, I know. Anyway, the offer still stands. You’re welcome to be our valet and by then Lita’s match will be over so maybe Matt’ll be a little easier to live with. Are you up for it?"

Angel grinned at him. "Definitely."

* * * *

"There you are, girlie, I’ve been looking all over for you."

Angel didn’t recognize the voice so she looked up into the blue eyes of Stone Cold Steve Austin as he dumped his beer cooler on her table.

"You’ve been looking for me?"

"You’re damn right I have. You were standing in Stone Cold Steve Austin’s corner on Smackdown. Now, I don’t know what the hell you were doing there and I do know it probably wasn’t even about me. Now, don’t get me wrong, girlie, Stone Cold Steve Austin doesn’t need no help when he’s kicking ass in the ring, but the bottom line is that sum’bitch Triple H put a damn chair in the ring. You moved the chair, I won the match. It’s simple as that. Now, like I said, I know you weren’t at ringside for the benefit of me, but you got me the match, then you got pedigreed for it. That’s why, although you weren’t officially my valet or the like, I figured I should give you something for your trouble." He opened the cooler and pulled out a ‘Give Me A Hell Yeah’ T-shirt. "Those sum’bitches at the merchandising stands charge twenty-five bucks for one of these things, but if it keeps beer money in Stone Cold Steve Austin’s pockets, who is he to complain? Speaking of beer, here you go, girlie." He handed her a six pack. "Now, that’s the real deal. It’s not your Fosters or whatever the hell you people drink, but I drink this. These are from my personal stock so make sure you put them to good use, okay, girlie?"

Angel nodded, bewildered.

"Now, there’s just one more thing. The both of us know that pedigree was meant for me, and the fact you’re up and walking around is surprising, to say the least. Just taking that pedigree is worth the beer and the shirt, which leaves us with the chair thing. Now, Stone Cold’s not one to hand out favors like they’re pennies, but I think in this case you did me a favor so it’s only fair that I repay it. This is my word, girlie. If you need anything, just ask me and I’ll see it gets done."

Angel stared up at him. "There is one thing."

Austin looked amused. "That sure was quick. What is it, girlie?"

"I need fifteen superstars to sign a paper and say they want to keep me around by the end of Smackdown or Vince McMahon’s going to kick me out. I still need six signatures and if you could be one of those six it would mean the world to me."

Austin frowned, then broke into a smile. "Vince McMahon wants you gone, you say? Well, hell, girlie, that’s reason enough for me. Hand me your little paper and I’ll sign it right here. You can keep that favor for later. If Vince is mad at you already, you’re probably gonna need it."

Angel handed him her petition and he signed it with a flourish. "There you go, girlie. Oh, and say hello to Vince for me. He’s a good friend of mine." Chuckling to himself, he picked up his cooler, left Angel’s desk and walked down the hall.

* * * *

"Yeah, whatever, Matt. I can take care of myself just as good as you can," Lita yelled into the locker room, then slammed the door. She turned to Angel with a deep sigh and a shake of her head. "You ready, Ange?"

"Yeah, I’ll just dump this stuff with Jeff." She gathered her gear and opened the locker room door to meet with a barrage of sound.

"Good! You came to your senses! It’s about time!" Matt shouted.

"Um, it’s me," Angel told him, shrugging her shoulders to free them from the tension in the room. "Jeff, could you look after this for me?"

Jeff nodded and took the bag from her. "Wish Lita luck."

"I will. See you guys after the match."

She rejoined Lita in the hallway.

"You know what really pisses me off?" Lita cried. "The way he keeps telling me I’m going to get hurt while I’m trying to get prepared. So I’m clearing my head and focusing my thoughts and all I can hear is ‘Lita, you’re going to get hurt’. So now it’s all I can think. He should have just left it alone." She shook her head, close to tears. "I mean, how can I win when even I don’t think I will?"

"You will, Li," Angel assured her. "And you won’t get hurt."

* * * *

Angel was wrong. Lita did get hurt. A shove, a kick, a takedown, another shove. Each had Lita on the ground and she hadn’t gotten in a single shot.

Malenko climbed to the floor to get a steel chair, but Angel ran over and grabbed it. They played tug of war for a few seconds until the ref called Malenko back into the ring. Malenko shoved Angel and the chair into the ground and climbed up to argue with the ref. This allowed Lita to catch him from behind with a rollup but he kicked out. A grab by the hair and a punch to he face, a threading onto the top rope and kicks to the midsection, a slam to the ground and a cover, but Malenko put her foot on the rope to lengthen the match.

"Come on, Lita!" Angel cried as her cousin caught Malenko with a low blow, then rolled him up into a cradle. Again he kicked out.

Next was a massive suplex by Malenko, before he pulled Lita onto him for the cover, then kicked out again. He was mocking her, letting her know that he could finish her whenever he wanted.

Malenko picked Lita up and used her as a weapon to knock down the ref. Then he kneed her in the stomach and slammed her with a vertical suplex. Lita lay prone in the ring as Malenko strutted around her. He caught Angel’s eye and smiled.

"Don’t try me, little Angel. This could be you."

Angel scowled back at him. "Come on, Lita!" she cried, knowing it wouldn’t do much good.

Malenko climbed from the ring and went for the chair again. Again Angel tried to take it from him and again she got shoved to the ground.

Malenko climbed back into the ring and slammed the chair into the canvas. "Goodbye, Lita!" he cried joyfully.

But just as he turned to attack Lita, Matt Hardy appeared from nowhere in the crowd, jumped the barrier and dove into the ring. Malenko raised the chair over his head but Matt kicked him in the stomach, forcing him to drop it. Then Matt picked up the chair, slammed Malenko across the head with it and jumped out of the ring next to Angel.

Lita crawled towards Malenko as the ref got back in the ring. Matt and Angel leaned on the apron and whispered Lita on.

Lita made the cover.

"One..." whispered Matt and Angel. "Two…three!" They jumped in the air and hugged, then Matt climbed in the ring to congratulate Lita. "You did it! You beat the son of a bitch!"

A groggy Lita grinned. "I beat him!"

Matt stepped back. "You sure did! You kicked his ass!"

Lita began a hysterical laugh and hugged Matt tight. Matt suddenly pulled her in even closer and kissed her.

Angel’s mouth dropped open. "Oh my God, Matt, what have you done?"

Lita had a similar reaction. He eyes filled with surprise and her hand flew to her mouth. "No," she murmured. "No, no, no."

Matt licked his lips and swallowed, only then realizing what had happened. "I’m sorry, Lita," he said hurriedly. "I screwed up. I’m sorry."

Lita was frozen and Matt decided it was time to leave.

Angel shook her head sadly, then her eyes focused on a body in the ring.

"Malenko," she murmured happily. She jumped up next to him. "Hiya Malenko."

Malenko was still trying to clear his head. "Oh, come on. Your friend already hit me with a chair."

"Funny, I remember you hitting me with two chairs," Angel replied. "Or was that the same chair twice?" She went to work.

Matt hit himself in the head. "Stupid!" he cried. "Idiot! Damn idiot!" He shook his head as he walked up the ramp. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Matt!"

Matt spun around to find Lita right behind him. He immediately entered apologetic mode.

"Lita, I’m so sorry. I didn’t…"

Lita cut him off by grabbing at his face. "It’s okay," she smiled. "We’ll survive."

Angel heard the cheer and stopped hitting Malenko long enough to look up and see what was going on. She broke into a grin.

"Hey, Malenko!" she cried, lifting him with a stick. "You should definitely check this out."

"What?" Malenko murmured, before his eyes focused. "What? I knew it. I knew she was cheating on me."

Angel laughed, almost crazily.

"Gotta go!" she announced, clocking him on the head with a stick. "Catch you later, stud."

She dove from the ring before he could retaliate and raced to catch Matt and Lita at the top of the ramp.

"Alright guys!" she cried, putting an arm around each of them. "It’s about time you came out."

She stepped back to let the two of them exit in each other’s arms, with the cheers of the crowd ringing in their ears.

* * * *

"You two are in big trouble," Jeff scolded, but he had a smile on his face.

Matt grinned back at him. In fact, he hadn’t stopped grinning. "What can I say?" he shrugged.

"It had to happen sooner or later," Lita added as Matt pulled her in for another kiss.

"Hey!’ Jeff cried, causing them to break apart. "Did you guys also see Angel kick the crap out of Malenko again?"

"She did?" Matt chuckled. "Ha, way to go."

Lita grinned. "Hey, maybe I should learn the fighting sticks."

Matt pulled her even closer. "Then you could beat me up. I don’t know if I like that idea."

Lita licked her lips. "You know you love it."

"And that would be my cue to leave," Jeff announced, ducking around them. He turned back to give them a shove through the door to the locker room. "The two of you need to get yourselves a room." He shut the door after them and started towards Angel. When he saw her he shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I know," Angel replied with a smile. "I think it’s better this way, though."

"Better for you, maybe. You can escape to your office if they get touchy-feely."

Angel slid over so she was only using half her chair. "Share my space, Jeff?"

Jeff climbed over the table. "I thought you’d never ask."

* * * *

"Okay, J."

"No."

"Y."

"Nope."

"Okay, I give up. What is it?"

"You can’t give up," Jeff chided. "You have to wait until the little guy hangs himself."

"I know how to play," Angel replied. "G."

"No."

"C."

"No."

"B."

"No, and I think the game’s over."

Angel sighed. "Okay, what was it?"

"The Wizard Of Oz," Jeff replied, filling in the letters. "Pretty tricky, huh?"

Angel stared at him. "Edge is right, Jeff. You are a dork."

"No, according to Edge, Matt’s a dork. I’m a psycho."

"Well, that’s true, too," Angel grinned. She shifted her position, trying to make herself comfortable on the tiny amount of chair she had.

"Careful," Jeff warned, leaning back to steady them, but he’d over-corrected and the chair collapsed backwards into the janitor’s closet. They grabbed for each other as they hit the ground with a crash.

"Are you okay?" Jeff asked, still holding her.

"Yeah, I’m fine," Angel replied, but as she tried to sit up, she hit her head on a shelf and fell down onto Jeff again.

"Let’s try that again," Jeff said, helping her pick herself up. He stood, then offered her his hands. Smiling, Angel let him help her up, not noticing that he didn’t release her when they were standing, instead wrapping his arms loosely around her waist.

"Thanks," she smiled. "I think maybe two people on one chair was a bad idea."

"I think it might have been," Jeff agreed.

Angel grinned up at him, not conscious of the fact that he hadn’t let her go, not even conscious of the fact that her own hands were moving around his waist, ever closer to his backside. He sure did smell good. Did he always smell this good before a match? Probably not. It’d be a waste, considering what happened in the ring.

"You guys, I think this is possibly the greatest night of my life!"

The sound of the voice immediately snapped Angel out of it. She hurriedly dropped her hands and stepped out of Jeff’s grasp. "Kat, is that you?"

"Angel!" Kat cried cheerfully, jumping up onto the table so that she could hug Angel. "And Jeff! What were you two doing in the closet?"

"Collecting dust," Angel deadpanned as Jeff replied, "Looking for a mop."

Behind the Kat, Faarooq turned to Bradshaw and said, "I think that boy was probably coming out of it."

Jeff stepped up to the table, almost knocking Kat off. "What was that?" he demanded.

"Easy there, cowboy," Bradshaw replied. "We don’t want you getting all upset. Everyone should be happy tonight because we are going to a strip club!"

Kat clapped her hands together. "You guys should come. It’ll be great. They’re gonna let me get naked!"

"Well, hold on there, little missy," Faarooq admonished. "I don’t know if I like the sound of that."

"Yeah," Bradshaw agreed. "You can come along if you like," he told Angel, eyeing her hungrily. "And you and the Kat can both get nekkid if you want to, but you," he continued, turning to Jeff. "I’d have to be pretty darn drunk before I’d be willing to see that."

"Yeah, man," Faarooq agreed. "I damn sure don’t want to see it."

"You wanna come, Angel?" Kat pleaded.

Angel tried to hide her smile. "I appreciate the offer, but me and Jeff have a match so we can’t leave anyway."

"Oh, man!" Bradshaw complained. "I was lookin’ forward to that."

"It’s okay," Faarooq told him. "We’re still going and there’ll be plenty of girls for us to look at."

"Including me!" Kat piped up, restoring Bradshaw’s smile.

"Kat, while I’ve got you here," Angel started, reaching for her appointment book and pulling out the petition. "I need you to sign this to keep me around."

"Sure," Kat smiled, scrawling her name on the paper. "You guys, come sign this for Angel."

"Where you goin’?" Bradshaw asked.

"If I can’t get fifteen signatures, Vince McMahon is having me kicked out."

"I don’t like the sound of that," Faarooq told her. "If anyone’s doing any kicking round here it’s gonna be me and him."

"Yeah, ass-kickin’," Bradshaw added.

"Well, sign the paper, then," Kat prompted.

"Yeah, sure," Faarooq said, adding his name to the list. "You gonna sign, brother?"

"Okay, I’ll sign," Bradshaw replied. "On one condition. She plays poker with us."

"Poker?" Angel questioned.

"Strip poker," Bradshaw smiled. "How about it, little missy?"

Angel nodded slowly. "Okay, I’m in."

"Then so am I!" Bradshaw announced, signing the paper.

"Okay, guys, let’s get going," Kat suggested. "I don’t want to miss a minute."

"You think we do?" Bradshaw asked, his eyes stopping on Angel’s sign. "Valet for rent. You’re a valet?"

Angel nodded.

"It’s too bad we don’t need a valet ‘cause we’ve got this one, but I’ll keep you in mind."

"Thanks," Angel said.

"You’re welcome. Just remember we’re playing poker. Wear your tiniest little outfit and get ready to get it on!"

"Come on, Bradshaw!" Kat cried. "Bye, Angel. Bye, Jeff."

As they walked away, Faarooq spoke. "Do you think she knows a valet’s a guy’s girlfriend, so if she’s charging for it, that makes her a hooker?"

Bradshaw frowned. "You’re sayin’ that like it’s bad." He broke into a grin. "Déjà vu, here we come!"

"Right on!" Kat cried.

* * * *

Jeff and Angel looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"You introduced me to her," Angel said jokingly.

"Kat’s great, she really is," Jeff replied. "I just wish she wasn’t so obsessed with taking her clothes off."

"Oh yeah, I’m sure you hate that," Angel teased.

Jeff shrugged. "Okay, you caught me. How many signatures do you need now anyway?"

Angel looked at her list. "Two," she said with some surprise.

"Two?" Jeff asked. "Piece of cake. Chris Jericho and The Rock."

"You think they’ll sign."

"Yeah," Jeff nodded. "They’re sort of friends with me and Matt so they’ll sign, and then you’ll be able to stick around."

"Great!" Angel hugged him.

Jeff smiled. "We should get to our match," he announced. "I’ll go get Matt." He stepped up to the locker room and opened the door but didn’t look inside. "Hey, Matthew Moore!" he called out. "If you don’t get your ass out here in the next few seconds Angel’s gonna take your place as my tag partner."

"Thirty seconds!" came the reply.

Jeff turned to Angel. "I bet he hasn’t even gotten changed yet."

Angel grinned. "Well, he’s probably not up to the putting clothes on part, anyway."

Jeff laughed.

Pretty soon, Matt joined them, pulling on his arm guards. "Let’s kick some ass."

Jeff stared at him strangely. "You know, that lipstick looks good on Lita, but it’s really not your color."

Matt sheepishly wiped his mouth. "Okay. Now let’s kick some ass."

* * * *

The Titantron was showing a replay of Matt and Lita’s kiss as Angel and the Hardyz reached the ring. Jeff smiled, Angel applauded and Matt shrugged with a smug look on his face.

"Oh yeah!" he cried. "It’s all about me!"

Jeff turned to him with a sarcastic smile. "Yeah, Matt, we all know you’re hot stuff. Let’s just beat these big bastards."

"Jealous," Matt replied.

"And how," Jeff murmured, leaning forward and putting his hands on his knees as he waited for their opponents’ entrance.

When they did appear, Matt and Jeff welcomed them by flying through the air and knocking them down.

"Oh yeah!" Angel cried, mimicking Matt. "It’s all about Matt and Jeff Hardy! You’re damn right it is!"

Matt and Jeff didn’t have it all their own way. Rikishi and Haku were twice their size and made sure they knew about it. But Matt and Jeff battled valiantly with moves so daring they even shocked Angel.

"Oh my God, Jeff, that was awesome!" she screamed after a corkscrew moonsault.

After a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Bomb, it looked to be over, with the Hardyz pulling off the upset. But while Matt argued with the ref about being in the ring while Jeff was legal man, Haku stepped in and headbutted Jeff, allowing Rikishi to drape an arm across him.

"One, two, three," counted the ref. "Ring that bell!"

Matt climbed back in and started punching Haku in the face as Jeff got up in time to help his brother double team Rikishi. Matt and Jeff turned around to be caught by Haku, one in each hand. Haku cast some kind of spell on them and their strength leeched out, causing them to collapse to the canvas. Still Haku held them and their bodies went limp.

"What the hell is that?" Angel cried urgently. "What’s he doing to them?"

But there was no one to answer her and all she could do was watch helplessly as her friends lost consciousness in the apparent chokeholds. Haku rolled Jeff’s body on top of Matt’s, and then he and Rikishi left the ring. As soon as they were gone, Angel was up there.

"Guys, wake up," she begged, pulling Jeff off Matt. His eyes were closed and he was barely breathing.

"Jeff?" Angel asked, lightly tapping his face. "Jeff, can you hear me?" He didn’t answer her. "Come on, Jeff, wake up," Angel cried, shaking him. Still no response. "Please, Jeff, please wake up." Tears formed in her eyes as she stared at his peaceful face. There was no pain, no nothing. "Please, Jeff."

She remembered the tag table match, how scared she’d been when she’d heard the crash, how worried she’d been waiting in the trainer’s room with Matt while the doctors worked out just how badly injured Jeff really was. Now she realized just how much she really did care about him. "Come on, Jeff," she whispered. "Get up. Don’t just lie there. I need you."

Suddenly, Jeff’s mouth dropped open and he inhaled a huge gasp of air. His eyes opened but he couldn’t focus. At least her was breathing relatively normally now. He tried to move his head but he couldn’t so he just lay there, staring up at the roof of the arena. "What…what happened?" he stuttered, his voice weak.

"I don’t know," Angel replied, grabbing his hand. "The guy with the weird haircut just grabbed you by the neck and you went down."

"A chokehold," Jeff murmured. "Was it a chokehold?"

"I don’t know," Angel replied. "I don’t know. Can you move, Jeff?"

The strain showed on Jeff’s face. Eventually, he gave up. "I don’t think so."

"Squeeze my hand," Angel suggested. "Squeeze it as hard as you can."

Jeff tried his best but hardly made any impression. "H-how’s that?"

"Good," Angel lied. "Real good."

Suddenly, Angel was pushed out of the way by a team of paramedics. They quickly loaded Jeff onto a stretcher and carried him from the ring.

"Angel," Jeff murmured. "Where’s Angel?"

"I’m here, Jeff," she called out, running to keep up. "I’m right behind you."

* * * *

"I’ve never seen anything like it," the doctor was saying. "I mean, medically, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with either of them. They should be able to get up out of here and move around."

"Why don’t you know?" Angel demanded. "Aren’t you paid to know? Maybe I should strike you down and see how you like it."

Lita stepped up and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Ange, it’s okay," she soothed. "Let him talk." She looked up at the doctor. "Well, they’re obviously not moving, are they?"

‘They’ve regained some mobility since the incident itself," the doctor explained. "As far as I can see, their strength returns over time. Now, I’m not saying they should try walking just yet, but given bed rest they should theoretically be fine by tomorrow."

Lita frowned. "Are you saying we should just take them to the hotel?"

"Unless you want them to go to hospital for further testing, yes. Their breathing is fine, they’re not in any great pain and their mobility seems to be returning. If by tomorrow they still can’t walk, I’d advise you to seek further treatment, but there’s really not much I can do for you here."

Lita nodded. "Take them home?" she asked Angel.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay, you get Jeff, I’ll get Matt. We’ll see if we can find someone to grab our stuff for us."

* * * *

Angel, Lita, Matt and Jeff finally made it to the back door. Their progress had been labored and slow as Matt and Jeff took tentative steps, supported by Angel and Lita.

A crowd of fans had gathered behind some barriers, despite the fact that the show went on inside. Their shouts were surreal as their weakened heroes stumbled along the tarmac to the rental car.

"Lita! Lita! Lita!"

"I love you, Jeff!"

"Way to go, Matt, you lucky son of a bitch."

They were a parade. Matt and Jeff couldn’t even find the energy to walk under their own power, but the fans didn’t care. It was almost as if they didn’t even notice.

"Angel!"

Angel raised her head. She could have sworn she’d heard someone calling her name.

"Angel!" She must have been hearing things because it sounded just like…

"Angel!" There he was. Front and center.

"Tim!" she cried in disbelief, loosening her grip on Jeff and causing his body to collapse onto the concrete ground. Angel raced over to the crowd and jumped the barrier before leaping into his arms. They kissed deeply as she slid sown his body and her feet touched the ground. "I can’t believe it, Tim, I can’t believe it."

"I got a week off work," Tim explained. "I had to see you."

"This is amazing!" Angel cried, kissing him again.

"Hey, you bitch!" cried a girl, pre to early teens who wore way too much makeup and a three sizes too big Hardy Boyz T-shirt. "I can’t believe you just dropped Jeff on the ground and left him there."

"Yeah!" added an almost identical girl. "I mean, some friend you are."

Angel’s hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, Jeff!" She leaped back over the barrier and stood by Jeff, who was trying unsuccessfully to get up. "Tim! Can you help me here? We need to get him to the car."

The crowd parted and Tim ran to his girlfriend’s aid.

"I’m real sorry, Jeff," Angel murmured. "Here, Tim, you take one side and I’ve got the other. You ready? One…two…three."

With both Angel and Tim supporting him, Jeff didn’t have to walk at all and progress was much faster. It wasn’t long before they caught up with Lita and Matt, who were still struggling along.

"Angel," Jeff murmured groggily. "Are we moving? Did we stop?"

"Yeah, we did, but we’re going again and we’re nearly there."

"Good." Jeff broke into a dopey smile. "Thank you, Angel. I really…I need you, Angel. I really need you. You know that?"

"I know, Jeff. It’s okay, I’m here. We’ve got you."

Jeff closed his eyes, a serene smile on his face, and let himself be carried along. Finally, she knew…she knew.